Bench Stuck at 225

Hello T-Nation. I’ve been lifting for almost 2 years now. My bench seems to have plateaued aat 225. Any tips on how to break through this? Is age a factor? I’m 36

Height and weight? What are you doing to train bench? How long have you been plateaued? What were you benching two years ago? No, age isn’t a factor.

Your age is not much of a factor yet. Also, I don’t think you have actually plateaued nor do I think you are “stuck,” 225 is simply where you are at right now. Keep training intelligently and eating; it will go up.

This is a mental obstacle. The number of guys who get to 225 or just 220 and stick there is staggering.

Try a spotter or lift in the power rack and go for it.

In a nut shell… not enough information to advise

I can’t tell you how to get past 225, but I can tell you how I got there – and maybe you could apply that to your plateau. My current working set is 225 at around 6 to 7 reps. So I can bench more than 225, but I judge my lifts by being able to get at through at least 5 reps.

I used a power cage. I think its one of the most misused/underused piece of equipment in the gym. 90% of the folks I see in the cage are either using it as a squat rack, or a place to do forearm curls. The pins are there for a reason and most people don’t utilize it as a plateau buster.

Anyway, once a week after a chest workout I put the pins at various heights and work all of my sticking points individually. At the lockout, I load the bar (in small increments) to quite a bit over my 1 rep max and do partials. It gets your system accustomed to holding heavier weights.

Another technique I used is dead stop benching. Put the pins just above your chest, slide under and do 1 rep from a dead stop – as slow as you need to get the weight up. Start from a manageable weight and load small increments until a single rep is brutal to get up.

Eat lots of chicken and other proteins.

This made a difference in my bench press, and I’m sure it’s going to get me to 315 eventually.

I don’t know what you have been doing with your training, but Dave Tate did an article on here a while back called the 6 week bench press cure or something like that. I printed it out and spent 6 weeks following it as closely as I could. I improvised on some stuff because I train at home and alone, but I pretty much followed the program as written. I went from 275 to 305 in 6 weeks. I plan to use the same program again next fall. One of the biggest things for me, I think, was set up and form. I learned how to set up properly and find the optimum bar path to bench for numbers like a power lifter as opposed to my lifetime of benching like a bodybuilder. You may want to give this program a try.

I also think that the proper use of pins in a power cage, as mentioned above, is a good idea. My primary training methods for the past couple of years have been based on CTs layers programming (which you can find on this site with lots of searching) and one of the staples for layers is the use of pins and dead stop reps.

Edizzle, you can try hitting your triceps with heavier weights. Also a Slingshot can help overload your muscles to help your raw bench come up.

I sometimes wonder where e-dizzle is right now, and if he ever got his bench past 225.

[quote]twojarslave wrote:
I sometimes wonder where e-dizzle is right now, and if he ever got his bench past 225.[/quote]
Nope… he hasn’t responded.

[quote]bulldog9899 wrote:

[quote]twojarslave wrote:
I sometimes wonder where e-dizzle is right now, and if he ever got his bench past 225.[/quote]
Nope… he hasn’t responded.[/quote]

Last night I was looking up at the moon, big and bright in the North Woods sky, and I thought to myself…

“e-dizzle is looking up at that same moon right now, and he can probably get 230 for a strong single.”

I believe.

He was a one and done…

[quote]twojarslave wrote:

[quote]bulldog9899 wrote:

[quote]twojarslave wrote:
I sometimes wonder where e-dizzle is right now, and if he ever got his bench past 225.[/quote]
Nope… he hasn’t responded.[/quote]

Last night I was looking up at the moon, big and bright in the North Woods sky, and I thought to myself…

“e-dizzle is looking up at that same moon right now, and he can probably get 230 for a strong single.”

I believe.[/quote]

There should be more twojarslaves in the world

[quote]twojarslave wrote:
I sometimes wonder where e-dizzle is right now, and if he ever got his bench past 225.[/quote]

Goddam I miss that sonovabitch!

[quote]twojarslave wrote:

[quote]bulldog9899 wrote:

[quote]twojarslave wrote:
I sometimes wonder where e-dizzle is right now, and if he ever got his bench past 225.[/quote]
Nope… he hasn’t responded.[/quote]

Last night I was looking up at the moon, big and bright in the North Woods sky, and I thought to myself…

“e-dizzle is looking up at that same moon right now, and he can probably get 230 for a strong single.”

I believe.[/quote]
LMFAO

[quote]sen say wrote:

[quote]twojarslave wrote:
I sometimes wonder where e-dizzle is right now, and if he ever got his bench past 225.[/quote]

Goddam I miss that sonovabitch![/quote]

BAHAHAHAHAA!

I hope he isn’t trapped under 240 on a bench somewhere.

[quote]OldOgre wrote:
I hope he isn’t trapped under 240 on a bench somewhere.[/quote]

lol…nice !

I dont really bench… and I think I might get stuck under a 240lb bench.